Wrap stripe device for circular knitting machines



Sept. 29, 1942. v. L; JANSSRON WRAP STRIPE DEVICE FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed May 9, 1941 3- Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOQ @mkwwl Aim MW.

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Sept. 29, 1942- v. L. JANSSOINIY 2,297,304

'WRAP STRIPE DEVICE FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed May 9, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Rim ATTY,

Sept. 29, 1942. v. L. JANSSON 2,297,304

WRAP STRIPE DEVICE FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed May 9, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet z! v IMVEN VIC+OT LlndQv IIY PM Wm Patented Sept. 29, 1942 WRAP STRIPE DEVICE FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Victor Linden Jansson, Thornbll 'y, Victoria,

Australia Application May 9, 1941, Serial No. 392,686 In Australia May 21, 1940 13 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in circular knitting machines of the rotating needle cylinder type having means to form a plurality of vertical stripes or patterns with yarn (hereinafter called wrap yarn) floated longitudinally of the fabric, at an angle of 90 degrees relatively to the knitted courses, and in each course engaged in the hook of one or more selected needles that is or are raised, and wrapped around the said needle or needles. More particularly this invention relates to improvements in striping devices for circular knitting machines of the rotating needle cylinder type, which include spaced apart yarn guides disposed concentrically around the axial shaft of a rotatable head, abovethe top of the circle of needles. The said rotatable head is eccentrically arranged relatively to the circle of needles so that during part of each rotation of the said head, each yarn guide travels outside the circle of needles, to engage yarn in the hook of a preselected raised needle or needles and (due to the relative movement and speed of travel of the circle of needles and the rotatable head) wrap the yarn around the said selected raised needle or needles.

Known stripe and pattern forming means of the kind hereinbefore referred to, wrap the same yarn around the same needle r needles in each rotation, that is in each knitted course, and consequently each said stripe or pattern is continuous and of the same colour throughout the length thereof.

One subject of this invention is to provide improvements in means for feeding wrap yarn in a knitting machine of the rotating needle cylinder type, whereby each yarn may be wrapped around one or more selected needles in any course or courses thus to form continuous or broken stripes or patterns,

Another object of this invention is to provide improvements in means for feeding wrap yarn in a knitting machine of the rotating needle cylinder type, whereby each stripe or pattern may comprise a plurality of yarns, which may be differently coloured.

A further object of this invention is to provide means for feeding Wrap yarn in a knitting machine of the rotating needle cylinder type, in which the tied on ends of the wrap yarns are engaged and held so that the knot cannot foul the needles thus obviating the risk of damage. This arrangement also permits the wrap yarn to be used closer to the knot than with the beforementioned known arrangement, thus reducing waste of striping yarn.

ranging the yarn guides on the rotatable head so that during the whole of the rotary travel of the said head, the yarn guides are normally inside the needle circle, each said yarn guide being movable to a position in which it will travel outside the needle circle during part of each or any rotation of the said head to engage a wrap yarn in the hook of one or more selected needles and wrap the said yarn around the said needle or needles in known manner.

Another feature of this invention consists in arranging movable yarn guides as set forth in the preceding paragraph, in groups of two' or more so that any yarn guide in a group may be selected and moved to a position in which it will travel. outside the needle circle for the purpose hereinbefore described.

A further feature of this invention comprises a yarn holder fixed on. the lower end of the shaft of the rotatable head within the beforementioned movable yarn guides, the said yarn holder accommodating the knot connecting the tied off wrap yarns and engaging the respective wrap yarns so that the said knot cannot be withdrawn thus preventing the'knot fouling the knitting needles at the commencement of a striping operation.

In one practical embodiment of this invention the rotatable head is slotted and levers of the first order (hereinafter called fingers) are pivotally supported in the said slots. The lower part of each said finger is apertured to constitute a yarn guide and the upper end or butt of each said finger is adapted to co-operate with control devices. Springs are arranged to resiliently influence the lower end of each finger toward the supporting shaft and in the normal (inner) position the yarn guides on the respective fingers rotate inside the needle circle. Control means, such as a lever cam, may be arranged to press the butt of each or any selected finger or fingers radially inwardly in any revolution thus displacing the lower end of that finger radially outwardly to a position in which the yarn guide thereon will travel outside the needle circle during part of the rotation of the rotary head.

The pivoted fingers are made of fiat material and a plurality of fingers may be arranged side by side in a group. In this case the butt of, each finger in each said group is gapped so that any selected finger in any group may be actuated by suitable means such as a lever cam operatively arranged relatively thereto. Each said lever cam may be resiliently influenced to the operative position and be connected by flexible members to control means whereby each cam is retracted to an inoperative position and selector devices are provided whereby in any revolution any cam is released to move to the operative position. A plurality of spring rings embrace the lower end of each pivoted finger and the fingers in each group are gapped so that the yarn guide end of any selected finger may be moved outwardly without relieving the spring pressure on any other finger in the same group.

The rotatable head comprises two discs having registering grooves in the adjacent faces thereof, to form bearing sockets for the pivot pins of the respective fingers or groups of fingers. A pin fixed in one finger of each group of fingers constitutes the pivot for the other finger or fingers in the same group. Pairs of discs having a circular groove of diiferent diameter in each fiat face thereof may be arranged to support the pivot pins of the guide fingers at one or other of two positions relatively to the supporting shaft thus enabling the extent of the pivotal movement of the said fingers to be predetermined.

The yarn holder comprises a slotted ring that is fixed on the lower end of the shaft of the rotatable head. The entry to each slot is widened to engage the yarn and the upper part of each said slot is relatively narrow to prevent; withdrawal of the knot from the holder.

But in order that this invention may be understood more readily, a practical embodiment thereof as applied to a machine specially suitable for the manufacture of hosiery will now be described with reference -to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan showing yarn guides arranged relatively to a rotating head and part of a needle circle, in the normal relative position and in broken lines indicating one yarn guide moved to a position in which it will travel outside the needle circle during part of the rotation of the said head;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a similar view to Fig. 1 but showing an arrangement in which some of the yarn guides are grouped in pairs;

Fig. 4 is a similar view to Fig. 1 but showing an arrangement in which some of the yarn guides are arranged in groups of three;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic front elevation of some parts of a known knitting machine fitted with striping devices according to this invention;

Fig. 6 is a sectional plan on line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 is a side sectional elevation on line 1-'l of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view of the rotating head and adjacent parts;

Fig. 9 is a sectional plan on line 9--9 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a detail perspective view showing a pivoted finger in full lines and in lighter lines showing parts of other fingers associated in the same group of fingers;

Fig. 11 is a detail sectional view of the yarn holding head and some adjacent parts.

Figs. 5, 6 and '7 of the drawings include some parts of a known knitting machine of rotating needle cylinder type, limited to such known machines and these parts are shown by way of example only and in order to enable this description of the present invention to be more clearly understood.

In the drawings, [4 represents the needle circle and IS the casing surrounding the said needle circle, suitable known means (not shown) being provided to support and actuate the said needles and to operate the needle latches. A shaft l6 supports a rotating head I! arranged eccentrically relatively to the needle circle l4 and rotated at the same rate as the needle circle by gearing as l8. Shaft 16 is movable axially in known manner by suitable means such as a collar l9 and forked lever 20.

Each yarn guide 2! is arranged on the lower end of a finger 22 that is pivotally supported relatively to the head l1.

Head ll comprises two superposed discs 23 in the adjacent faces of which are registering circular grooves 24 disposed concentrically around the shaft I6. Circular grooves 25 of different diameter to the grooves 24, in the other face of each disc 23, may be arranged in registry with each other by transposing the said discs. Spaced radial slots 21 in the discs 23 accommodate fingers 22 and each said finger is supported on a pivot pin 28 disposed in the bearing formed by the registering grooves 24 or 25. A plurality of fingers arranged in the same slot are supported on a common pivot pin which is fixed in one of the said fingers and extends through a hole in the other finger or fingers (see Fig. 10).

Spring bands 30 embrace the lower parts of the fingers 22, the number of such bands being the same as the highest number of fingers in any group. In the arrangement shown in Figs. 5 to 8 by way of example, the highest number of fingers in a group is three and three spring bands are used, but the number and arrangement of fingers may be varied.

A recess 31 in each finger 22 retains a spring band 30 in operative position and clearances 32 in each said finger permit the lower end of any finger in any group to move outwardly without relieving the spring pressure on the other fingers in the same group.

The butt 33 of each finger 22 engages a guide slot 34 in a collar 34a fixed on the shaft l6. Lever cams 35 are adapted to be set to press the butt of any selected finger or fingers inwardly toward the shaft IS in each revolution of the head 11, to move the yarn guide on the said finger outwardly to the .operative position. The number of lever cams, 35 is the same as the highest number of fingers in any group of fingers and a recess 31 in each finger of each group enables any finger in a group to be actuated independently of the other fingers in thesame group.

Each lever cam 35 is resiliently urged toward the operative position by a spring 38. Each cam 35 is held in the normal (inoperative) position by suitable means such as a flexible control wire 39, the other end of which is connected to a cam lever 40 which is in turn controlled by pegs M on a plurality of discs 42. Each peg 4| on each disc 42 is removable to permit the associated cam lever 40 to move and so allow a control cam 35 to move to the operative position in any revolution of the rotating head. I

A master control wire 44. is connected to a lever 45 which supports pins 46 that engage slots 41 in the respective lever cams 35 so that all the said cams may be retracted .to the inoperative position, as shown in Fig. 6.

A ring 48 fixed on the shaft I6 is radially slotted at 49 to engage wrap yarns 50 and retain a knot 5| connecting all the said yarns, within the said ring. When the yarns 50 are pulled taut by known tensioning devices (not shown) the said yarns enter the relatively narrow upper parts of the slots 49 and the said slots prevent the knot being drawn out to foul the knitting needles when a striping operation is commenced. This arrangement enables relatively short ends to be used on the wrap yarn thus reducing wastage of the yarn and the said arrangement also obviates the use of weights and other means to hold the said yarn ends.

It will be apparent that any combination of yarn guides may be used according to the number of colours or other variations required in the formation of vertical stripes or patterns. Thus in Fig. 1 in which all the yarn guides are single, no colour variation is possible but any stripe or pattern may be broken as and where required. In Fig. 3 some of the yarn guides are single and some yarn guides are in groups of two thus enabling continuous or broken stripes or patterns or parts thereof to be made in one or two colours as required. In Fig. 4 some of the yarn guides are single and some yarn guides are in groups of three thus enabling continuous or broken selected stripes or patterns or parts thereof to be made in one, two or three colours as required.

In use, the pegs 4| in the discs 42 are arranged to control the levers 40 and so the lever earns as required, and the means (not shown) to control the lifting of selected needles in the needle circle M are also set in known manner so that in each revolution of the rotating head, any selected yarn guide is operated to cause yarn in that guide to engage the hook of a selected needle (or needles) and then be wrapped round the said needle (or needles) in known manner.

I claim:

1. In a wrap stripe device for a circular knitting machine of rotating needle cylinder type, of the kind which includes a rotatable head arranged eccentrically relatively to the needle circle, spaced radial slots in the said head, fiat fingers arranged in the respective slots, some of said fingers being arranged in groups, the upper end of each finger in each group being gapped so that any finger in any said group may be actuated to locate the yarn guide on that finger in the operative position relatively to one or more selected needles and means to resiliently embrace the lower ends of all the said fingers, each finger in each group being formed so that outward movement of one yarn guide will not relieve the resilient pressure on any other finger in the same group.

2. In a wrap stripe device for a circular knitting machine of rotating needle cylinder type having fingers arranged in groups as claimed in claim 1, a pivot pin fixed relatively to one finger of each group, the other finger or fingers in that group being freely supported on the said pivot pin.

3. In a wrap stripe device for a circular knitting machine of rotating needle cylinder type, of the kind which includes a rotatable head arranged eccentrically relatively to the needle circle, spaced radial slots in the said head, a fiat finger pivotally supported in each said slot, a yarn guide at the lower end of each said finger, means to reslliently embrace the lower ends of all the fingers to locate the yarn guides in a position in which they will travel inside the needle circle during the complete rotation of the said head and means to actuate any selected finger to move the yarn guide thereon to a position in which yarn in the said guide will be arranged on a selected needle or needles, the said rotating head comprising two superposed discs having registering recesses in the contacting faces .to form bearings for pivot pins supporting the movable fingers.

' 4. In a wrap stripe device for a circular knitting machine of rotating needle cylinder type, the construction claimed in claim 3, in which the registering recesses comprise two registering circular recesses in the meeting faces of the superposed discs that form the rotatable head.

5. In a wrap stripe device for a circular knitting machine of rotating needle cylinder type, the construction claimed in claim 3 in which a pivot pin fixed in one finger is adapted to pivotally support one or more additional fingers.

6. In a wrap stripe device for a circular knitting machine of rotating needle cylinder type, which includes a rotatable head arranged eccentrically relatively to the needle circle, fingers pivotally supported relatively to the said head, a yarn guide at the lower part of each said finger, means to resiliently actuate each said finger to a position in which the yarn guide is Within the needle circle during the whole of the rotary travel of the said head, and means to actuate any selected finger so that the yarn guide therein is moved outwardly to a position in which it will wrap yarn on a selected needle or needles, some of the said fingers being arranged in groups, the pivot pin for the whole of the fingers in each group being fixed relatively to one finger of that group and each other finger in that group being pivotally movable on the said pivot pin.

'7. In a wrap stripe device for a circular knitting machine of rotating needle cylinder type, the construction claimed in claim 6 in which the rotating head comprises two discs, the meeting faces of the discs being recessed to form bearings for the pivot pins of the movable fingers.

8. In a wrap stripe device for a circular knitting machine of rotating needle cylinder type of the kind which includes a rotatable head arranged eccentrically relatively to the needle circle, a yarn knot retainer arranged inside the yarn guides carried by the said head, the said yarn knot retainer being slotted on the lower face thereof to engage the tied ends of the wrap yarns and having a central recess to accommodate the knot and prevent the knot being withdrawn.

9. In a wrap stripe device for a circular knitting machine of rotating needle cylinder type of the kind which includes a rotatable head arranged eccentrically relatively to the needle circle, a yarn knot retainer arranged on the lower end of the shaft of the rotatable head, the said yarn knot retainer comprising a ring-shaped member having radial slots in the lower face thereof to engage the tied ends of the wrap yarns with the knot inside the said ring, the said slots preventing withdrawal of the said knot.

10. In a wrap stripe device for a circular knitting machine of rotating needle cylinder type, a rotatable head comprising a pair of superposed discs fixed on a shaft arranged eccentrically relatively to the needle circle, radial slots in the said discs, fingers arranged in the respective slots, a pivot for each said finger, a bearing in the said discs for each said pivot, a yarn guide on the lower part of each said finger, a spring ring embracing the lower part of each finger to locate the yarn guides so that they normally rotate inside the needle circle, a butt on the upper part of each said finger and means to press the butt of any selected finger inwardly to move the yarn guide on that finger outwardly to a position in which wrap yarn from the said guide will be arranged relatively to a selected needle or needles.

11. In a wrap stripe device for a circular knitting machine of rotating needle cylinder type, as claimed in claim 10, a pivot pin to support each finger and concentric registering slots in the meeting faces of the discs to form a bearing for each said pivot pin.

12. In a wrap stripe device for a circular knitting machine of rotating needle cylinder type, as claimed in claim 10, a group of fingers arranged in one or more of the slots, a plurality of spring rings to retain the fingers with the yarn guides in the inoperative position, a clearance in each finger to enable the yarn guide of any finger to be moved outwardly without releasing the spring pressure on other fingers in the same group, and a clearance in the butt of each finger to enable the butt of any finger to be pressed inwardly without pressing the butt of any other finger in the same group.

13. A wrap stripe device for a circular knitting machine of rotating needle cylinder type, comprising a rotatable head arranged eccentrically relative to the needle circle, fiat fingers each pivotally supported relative to the said head to constitute a lever of the first order, a yarn guide at the lower end of each said finger, resilient means arranged to urge each finger to a position in which the yarn guide thereon will travel inside the needle circle during the complete rotation of the said head, and means to actuate the upper end of any selected finger to locate the yarn guide on the said finger in a position wherein it will travel outside the needle circle to arrange Wrap yarn on a selected needle or needles, characterized in that the said resilient means comprise a plurality of resilient rings arranged to embrace all the said fingers; some of said fingers being arranged in closely associated groups and the number of resilient rings being equal to the largest number of fingers in any group, each said finger being formed so that any finger in a group may be moved to the operative yarn wrapping position without releasing the resilient pressure on any other finger in the same group.

VICTOR LINDEN JANSSON. 

